Jin-Roh (1999)

"Tales of beasts getting involved with humans always end badly."

Jin-Roh [人狼] (1999) literally meaning "Man-dog" (and called Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade here in America), is the third entry in Mamoru Oshii’s Kerberos trilogy. Though this film works entirely on it’s own and takes place entirely before the other two films: The Red Spectacles (1987) and StrayDog: Kerberos Panzer Cops (1991). Unlike the other two this film is not actually directed by Mamoru Oshii. Oshii wrote the screenplay and had planed to shoot it as a live action film a couple years earlier but a project that Oshii couldn’t pass up came his way: Ghost in the Shell (1995). Oshii decided to let Hiroyuki Okiura (an animation supervisor whom Oshii had worked previously with on the Patlabor films and Ghost in the Shell) direct the film instead as an anime.

Jin-Roh is the story of Corporal Kazuki Fuse a member of the elite police force called “Kerberos.” One night during a riot in a city between civilian terrorists and Japanese police, the Kerberos troops are ordered into the sewers below the city to cut off the terrorists. Kazuki comes across a young girl and is ordered to shoot her because she’s with the terrorists. But Kazuki can’t do it, and the girl then blows herself up. Although Kazuki miraculously survives mostly unscathed, this leaves him with some deep emotional and psychological scars.

The story of Jin-Roh is actually really good. The intro is very gripping and though the middle is very slow (more on that later) the entire last part and ending really pays off and connects everything quite well. I really like how this film actually gives an introduction explaining the world of the Kerberos Trilogy, setting it up as a parallel universe where Germans took over Japan in World War II. I feel like this really aided the movie and helps to be a clean jumping point for anyone who hasn’t seen the previous two films and doesn't know what is going on with this world. This also works well if you were to watch these three films chronologically because the other two don’t explain how the world got that way. By the way, (if anyone cares) the other order I would recommend watching these films (besides by release date) would be Jin-Roh, The Red Spectacles and then StrayDog, not chronologically. This way you get a good introduction to the world and how it got messed up and then you can watch Koichi's story unfold in two parts after this world goes to hell.

This movie actually explains the “Red hooded girl” representing fate that guides Koichi in The Red Spectacles (1987). Which is interesting and I enjoyed, but I’m also torn about. Part of me wishes this was just a metaphor for fate that is in the film, and loosely followed by the mysterious “red balls” that constantly appear in StrayDog: Kerberos Panzer Cops (1991). The physical explanation of this red hooded girl, in this film would make more sense if the main character of this film was actually Koichi from those previous two. Koichi would actually work perfectly in this story, but I understand the want to distance itsself from the other two and tell a unique story on it’s own. Plus any viewer who has seen the other two would point out differences in Kazuki’s attitude and I guess his poor emotional state would probably tarnish Koichi’s supposedly “badass” attitude that surrounds him in the other two films (for no reason, mind you.) I suppose that it’s possible that Koichi would have had a similar encounter with another “Little Red Riding Hood” terrorist during the time before the Kerberos were disbanded, because there are apparently many of them. This however seems like a long shot, and this is the part of me that just feels like we should have left the “Red hooded girl” from The Red Spectacles alone. No need to explain a metaphor with physical events/people, this just ends up being weird when you think about it too much.

This movie is REALLY slow in the middle. I was trying to figure out the reason for this and I think it’s a result of the movie trying to be too clever and leaving too much to reveal in the end so the middle is actually quite barren, story wise. In the middle Kazuki is seemingly scarred and lacking really any motivation and while this is fine and fits the story and what Kazuki's been through... it’s not interesting to watch! He’s teamed with Kei Amemiya who is hanging out with him, why? Well… just because she feels like it! Beyond loneliness (which I guess is a reason for the two to hang out, but once again… not interesting) there’s no real reason for these two to connect or even spend so much time with each other. Now in the end it’s revealed that both have more reason and purpose for hanging out but in the moment, while you're getting through it, it’s just really boring and slow! I think that if Mamoru Oshii directed this himself, this is where he would have slipped in some existential or psychological questions to keep me interested, but alas he did not.

Most of this film is quiet which really adds to mood of the film and Kazuki’s emotional state. It’s used very sparingly but the score is really beautiful when it does come in. The score is composed by cellist Hajime Mizoguchi, I've never heard his work before, but it turns out he is married to famous anime composer Yoko Kanno! Crazy.

This film is beautifully animated. It’s probably one of the most realistic anime films ever created, and the animation follows suite so its also is quite realistic. Which is something I don't actually like, but seems to work for this film considering it's very serious tone and the fact that it is a prequel to two other serious live action films.

I especially loved the effects animation in this film: blood splatters, rain drops in water and bullets ricocheting off armor are all beautifully rendered. Nowadays even in traditionally animated films, a lot of the effects animation is done in CG and this film is an example of why completely traditionally animated films are superior. Japan is one of the few places in the world left that actually understands this. No it’s not easier, but it is vastly superior.

Jin-Roh (1999) may be the most successful of the Kerberos Trilogy, but it tries to be too clever for it’s own good and therefore is very slow in the middle, but if you make it to the end you will be rewarded with a decent explanation and an ending that will stick with you. 3.5/5 Stars.

Happy watching!





If you missed it be sure to go back and check out my review of the other films that make up the Kerberos Trilogy: The Red Spectacles (1987) and my review of it's sequel StrayDog: Kerberos Panzer Cops (1991).

Or check out two other great animated films written by acclaimed anime director Mamoru Oshii: Ghost in the Shell (1995) and it's sequel Innocence (2004).

Like this blog? You can support it by buying this film through these links:

Innocence (2004)

"The less one forgets, the less one can remember."

Innocence (イノセンス) (2004) which is called Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence in America, is a follow up (or maybe companion?) to Ghost in the Shell (1998). It's also loosely based on the chapter Robot Rondo in the manga Mobile Armored Riot Police (called Ghost in the Shell in America) written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow.

Like Ghost in the Shell, this film also focuses on Section 9's investigation of a case, however this film follows Batou, Major Motoko Kusanagi's partner from the former film. This film takes place a couple years after the events of the first one. No one knows Motoko's whereabouts but she is constantly on the mind of Batou. Section 9 is investigating a cyborg-producing company named LOCUS SOLUS that produces "gynoids," androids that look like young girls that are built for sex. Recently there has been a string of these gynoids going berserk and killing humans, Section 9 is investigating to see of someone has tampered with their programming.

The animation in this film is really nice. It's a lot higher quality than most Japanese anime films. The film is a CG/traditional animation hybrid where most all the backgrounds are computer animated and almost all the characters are traditionally drawn, this works for the most part and it's definitely better than most films that try this. More often than not the texture on the CG scenes is what sticks out to me as not fitting the rest of it. Where I think the traditional animation really shines is there's times where the computer generated camera is doing a slight move or change of angle and the traditionally drawn characters change with the camera in perfect perspective. This is no easy feat at all and it's really done well in this film. The film also takes advantage of this hybrid animation (rather than being held back by it) by doing lots of interesting angles you wouldn't expect in either a CG animated film or a traditionally animated one and even some strange fish-eye shots that I enjoyed.

While the art direction is quite a bit different than the previous film making the characters and world seem pretty different, I think the technology in this film is very fairly evolved and seems like it all logically belongs in the same world based on what we saw in the previous film.

Unfortunately I really don't think this film holds up on it's own. You're really not going to understand the climax or why everyone keeps constantly talking about "the Major" if you've never seen Ghost in the Shell. I think that Mamoru Oshii could have made a film in this world that wasn't a sequel, but this isn't it. This film almost is, it follows different characters and a unique plot but they ruin that by constantly referencing the previous film and even bringing in Motoko at one point to help the plot/characters.

This film is actually structured very similar to Ghost in the Shell. However while I really enjoy the mystery of The Puppet Master and the intrigue of the main character Major Motoko in that film, Innocence's plot is a whole lot less interesting to me and while the second half does get more interesting and the end does pay off quite well, I think this film takes a lot more time to get the viewer interested and invested in the story.

I think my favorite part of Innocence (and every other Oshii film I've seen) is the deep psychological questions it asks. I realize this is an trademark you can expect walking into a Mamoru Oshii film, but I think Innocence is the king of this. Also Innocence contains a LOT of references to other literary works also, from Asimov to The Bible to Richard Dawkins to Plato, Confucius and the Brothers Grimm. So much so that you can tell Mamoru Oshii put a lot of his own thoughts and meditations into this film, a lot of this though it works for the film, is not necessary to the film which in turn, makes it a very personal journey. This film really reminds me of The Red Spectacles (1987) because I felt that film was very similar in it's contemplations (and this film even has the cracked-out dream sequences that that film had too!), though I would say this film hands down, is a lot more successful due to years of more experience (and no weird tonal shifts!)

Though Innocence (2004) wont really work on it's own as well as it was inteded, it's still a masterful example of great animation and filmmaking and a very personal film for Mamoru Oshii. 4/5 Stars.

Happy watching!





Well that concludes my week reviewing the films of acclaimed Japanese director Mamoru Oshii. If you missed it be sure to go back and check out my review of The Red Spectacles (1987) and my review of it's sequel StrayDog: Kerberos Panzer Cops (1991) and the amazing meta-film Talking Head (1992) and this film's predecessor Ghost in the Shell (1995). And check back this weekend as I've got one more related film (though not directed by Mamoru Oshii) for you as a special bonus.

Like this blog? You can support it by buying this film through these links:

Ghost in the Shell (1995)

"I just have a whisper... from my ghost."

Ghost in the Shell (1995) known in japan as GHOST IN THE SHELL／攻殻機動隊 (literally Ghost in the shell - Mobile Armored Riot Police), is one of the most well known anime films of all time. It's based on the manga Mobile Armored Riot Police (called Ghost in the Shell in America) written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow.

Major Motoko Kusanagi is a cyborg that works for Section 9, a Japanese government agency focusing on counter-terrorism. The film revolves around Motoko and Secion 9 hunting a dangerous hacker known only as "The Puppet Master," because of his tendency to hack into people's brains and cause them to then hack into corporations and government agencies.

I really like how simple the story is in this film, despite all the complexities of the world and technology the plot is surprisingly easy to follow. I love the Puppet Master and think he is absolutely fascinating and I really enjoy how open ended the ending of this film is.

Also the complex characters in this film are surprisingly well set up. I love how Motoko seems cold and robotic a lot of the time, yet she's late to work and impatient (two things you wouldn't associate with someone who is mostly hardware) and as the film goes on and she talks to Batou (her only real friend) you realize she's a cyborg with a lot of really deep stuff on her mind constantly. I love the little bit about the irony of her loving to go diving, this is absolutely beautiful to me.

There is a bit of "technobabble" in this film that will probably turn off some first time viewers, but I've got to say that actually most of it makes sense to me after seeing this film many, many times over the years.

One of the things I love most about this movie is how well developed the world seems. It has loads of well thought-out technology (down to elaborate elevator door closing mechanisms) combined with a very lived-in feel much like the Star Wars movies were well known for, this is true cyberpunk and it makes for a very awesome film to watch.

Adapting the Mobile Armored Riot Police manga into a film must have seemed like a dream project for Mamoru Oshii. The manga is loaded with lots of really deep philosophy and the unique world and characters that seem perfect for an Oshii film. His direction in this movies is really wonderful, down to the little things like imagining what it would look like in a first person view to switch from one body to another.

In a very Oshii fashion, and shot in a very similar way to the Taiwan montages in StrayDog: Kerberos Panzer Cops (1991), the film has multiple montages that are absolutely stunning at showing off the world and establishing the mood of the film these are set to the magnificent soundtrack by Kenji Kawai which uses a Japanese folk song choir singing in an ancient form Japanese mixed with Bulgarian harmony and traditional Japanese notes, it's very memorable and uniquely beautiful.

Ghost in the Shell (1995) is a truly great animated film, it's a really beautiful film with stunning visuals and a very thought-provoking story. I absolutely love it. 5/5 Stars.

Happy watching!





All this week, I am continuing to review the films of acclaimed Japanese director Mamoru Oshii. If you missed it be sure to go back and check out my review of The Red Spectacles (1987) and my review of it's sequel StrayDog: Kerberos Panzer Cops (1991) and the amazing meta-film Talking Head (1992).

Like this blog? You can support it by buying this film through these links:

Talking Head (1992)

"Instead of a movie existing only to tell a story... the challenge is how faithfully you can tell a story called a movie."

Talking Head (トーキング・ヘッド) (1992) is an interesting meta film written and directed by Mamoru Oshii. The film follows an unnamed hero who calls himself a "migrant director," someone who can come onto any troubled (anime) film project late into production and copy any directors style and always makes sure the film is finished on time. Our story starts when our hero is hired by a producer to do his hardest project yet, a much awaited anime movie that needs to premiere in two months, very little work has been done already and the director himself went missing months ago.

So as I've mentioned before on this blog, one of the big "trademarks" of a Mamoru Oshii film is he likes to ask really deep theoretical and psychological questions in his films through the narrative. If that's your thing, this is your film. Talking Head is PACKED with those kind of questions, not only about life but also about film and different peoples roles in film. This is really cool because I could tell this film probably sums up his entire view and thoughts of film (and anime) and working on film in his life up until this point. I enjoyed this pretty thoroughly but I'd say Oshii might have over done it a little bit with this one, because the questions and "higher concepts" are very constant through out the entire film.

The biggest problem with this movie I had was that the deadlines for the director seems absolutely ridiculous, I understand this was probably the intent and this helps us to learn who everyone in the production team is very quickly but this is something that really took me out of the story. Right off it was hard for me to get into it because there's no possible way anyone could produce an animated film in two months that isn't even complete on a script level, (and that goes without all the mishaps and foul play that happen in the narrative!) Maybe it wouldn't affect anyone who knows less about film and animation as much, but I have to believe that this film was made with those people in mind specifically based on how little explaining this film does so this seems misleading and confusing to me.

Also because this film does little to explain a lot about film and animation, I feel like you'd have to have at least a basic knowledge of the production of them to even understand this movie, otherwise I think you'll just get lost in the weirdness. This is something I really enjoyed because I'm really partial to those things but I could see how this would really turn some people off to the movie. And I'm really not holding this against the film actually, it's fine if a director wants to make a film for one specific audience but I am going to put this here just in case, more of a warning than anything else.

Where this film really shines is it's direction. This is a very heavy, high concept and very difficult film, a lesser director would not have been able to pull this off so well. This film blends meta with art house and classic detective mystery genres in a way that just blows my mind! The film is very low budget only using a handful of sets, and this is something that is worked into the concept because almost every set is very obviously "built" on a stage inside a theater with often no walls or attempt to cover the theater setting. This alone adds an another level to the film, bridging the gap between film, theater and real life in a very interesting way.

Tonally this film is actually very similar to The Red Spectacles (1987), the whole film has a very sullen tone but carried out in a very comedic way. Actually I'd say this film is WAY more successful than The Red Spectacles in that respect, this is not something that is easy to do and this film does it very well. And the humorous side of the film allows Oshii to make some very slight references to his other films, something I probably wouldn't have noticed, (but picked up on because I dedicated this week to his films!) but it's also done in a way that is not distracting at all... something that lots of auteurs often get caught up in too much and it becomes too obvious/distracting.

Also wanted to do a little shout out to the lead actor of this film Shigerou Chiba, if you recall in my last couple reviews this guy was kind of a sore spot for me and I thought he didn't work well at all in the role of Koichi in the Kerberos Saga, however in this film I thought he killed the role! This is how he should have played Koichi in my opinion, because I really liked his character in this movie.

Talking Head (1992) not for everyone, but it's definitely worth checking out if you are interested in film or animation (anime) production, or what goes on inside a directors head during said productions. But the film could also just be worth wile if you're into very strange surreal, almost wacky films. I'd say it works very well on different levels. But be warned, this is no light viewing material. 4.5/5 Stars.

Happy watching!





Continue to check back because everyday this week as I am continuing to review the films of acclaimed Japanese director Mamoru Oshii. If you missed it be sure to go back and check out my review of The Red Spectacles (1987) and my review of it's sequel StrayDog: Kerberos Panzer Cops (1991).

Like this blog? You can support it by buying this film through these links:

StrayDog: Kerberos Panzer Cops (1991)

"Three years ago is just like the day before yesterday."

StrayDog: Kerberos Panzer Cops (ケルベロス 地獄の番犬) (1991) is director Mamoru Oshii's follow up to The Red Spectacles (1987), though chronologically this film is a prequel. After he finished The Red Spectacles, Oshii started writing a manga called Kerberos Panzer Cop (犬狼伝説) to fill in some of the backstory of that world. StrayDog: Kerberos Panzer Cops is loosely based on the first volume of that manga.

StrayDog: Kerberos Panzer Cops takes place toward the end of the three years before Koichi comes back to Japan in The Red Spectacles. StrayDog follows a young man named Inui who was one of the men under Koichi and felt betrayed and confused that Koichi ordered the Kerberos men to hold out and resist while he took off in a helicopter and escaped after the riots. After Inui stands trial and gets released from prison he leaves Japan in search of his former officer, Koichi who has fled to Taiwan. Unfortunately Inui is not the only person looking for the renegade Koichi.

This film has even better direction, and camera work than Oshii's previous live action attempt The Red Spectacles (1987) and Oshii helped himself immensely by actually hiring some real actors this time around. Again, I liked the questions Oshii asks in this film (can dogs choose their masters? etc.) and I found the story of this film really quite interesting.

Also i think the final action sequence is very well shot and super enjoyable, (probably the whole reason I'd recommend this movie besides the beautiful montages).

Although I liked the story of this film, it's noticeably light on actual content. This film is 30 minutes shorter than The Red Spectacles and it feels twice as long (and it's not like that was a quick movie either!) A lot of this is for mood and tone but over all it really could have used more actual plot and things happening.

Though this film probably works on it's own, most likely you're going to be confused about little bits and you're really not going understand the significance of certain things (like the ending) if you've never seen The Red Spectacles.

I really don't understand the point of having the Taiwanese girl in this film? She really doesn't do anything. I get she's supposed to bring Inui and Koichi together and have a platonic relationship with both of them but she could have done more in the plot. Inui joins with her because she's the most recent person to talk to Koichi but she has no idea where he is either so instead of helping the plot along she just decides to travel with Inui on his search, does she do anything for Inui? Nope. Does she help things when they find Koichi? Nope. Waste of a character in my opinion.

And the goofy humor of the The Red Spectacles which I hated returns, it lays dormant for most of the film until Koichi comes back. When Inui finds Koichi (once again played by Shigeru Chiba) they have a the silliest wrestling wussy (almost) fight I've ever seen, and it lasts for probably a solid ten minutes! Am I the only one who thinks this is not how soldiers would act at all?! What the heck is with these guys!

Lastly the only problem with watching this film right after The Red Spectacles is the world in this film is a whole lot less interesting the amazing dystopia that was created in The Red Spectacles. This film has beautiful montages of Taiwan but Taiwan in this world pretty much just looks like Taiwan today (with maybe a little more junk hanging around?). It's really quite beautiful and this begs the question, why doesn't everyone just leave Japan... I mean two of our main characters didn't seem to have any problem doing it!

The magnificent thing this film conveys is it's mood. It's very powerful in that respect. I really enjoyed the sweeping montages of Taiwan aided greatly by (long time Oshii colaborator) Kenji Kawai's beautiful soundtrack accompaniment.

StrayDog: Kerberos Panzer Cops (1991) is a solid blend of art and action, I just wish there was a little more content and a little less of the beautiful landscape montages. 3.5/5 Stars.

Happy watching!





Be sure to check back because everyday this week I am going to be reviewing the films of acclaimed Japanese director Mamoru Oshii. If you missed it be sure to go back and check out my review of The Red Spectacles (1987)

Like this blog? You can support it by buying this film through these links:

The Red Spectacles (1987)

"Not even rumors get through this town."

The Red Spectacles (紅い眼鏡) (1987) is the first live action film directed by acclaimed anime director Mamoru Oshii. This is film begins a trilogy of feature films including StrayDog: Kerberos Panzer Cops (1991) and Jin-Roh (1999) which together are known as the Kerberos Saga, though chronologically this film is the last of the trilogy.

The Red Spectacles takes place in an Orwellian dystopia where there once was a heavily armed elite police unit known as the Kerberos (after Hades' Cerberus) but due to a violent public act this group was dismantled and shut down. This film follows Koichi who refused to disarm and quit the Kerberos and (with two friends) decided to make an attempt at fleeing the country. Koichi ends up having to leave his friends behind but makes a promise with them to regroup and meet again, this film takes place three years later as Koichi has returned to Japan to look for his friends.

The "good" in this movie revolves around Mamoru Oshii. He was already a well known anime director before this point having a crucial part in the creation of the anime for Urusei Yatsura and Patlabor. But this film is his first attempt at directing a live action film, and although there's some shots I felt were oddly framed and little things he tried to do that weren't as successful, for the most part the direction in the film is really great. He does a lot of really creative things that aren't typical with the standard Hollywood way of making films, and that kind of creativity is the kind of thing I really enjoy watching in a film.

Also like many other of Oshii's works the film is loaded with lots of nods to literature and stories from not only across time but across the world. The film also asks some really deep psychological questions, this is something that Oshii becomes really well known for. And best of all I really enjoyed how well all of these higher concepts were integrated into the story of the film, it's not easy fitting lines from Shakespeare relevantly into a story, but he does it really well.

The film's pretty low budget so the action sequences are creative but still don't seem that realistic, but the film doesn't have too much of that so it really didn't bother me too much. The main problem I have with this film is the comedy. This film is loaded with lots of wacky Japanese slapstick humor that really seems out of place with the rest of the very serious, dystopian tone of the film. I think Oshii probably saw Brazil (1985) a few years earlier and decided to mimic that, but Brazil although very cooky in it's own way, does it a lot better than this film.

And adding a lot to the humor of this film is Shigeru Chiba who plays the lead, Koichi. Chiba has the "hammiest" acting I've seen in a movie in a long time! He's trying to play this stoic hero character but in the goofiest way possible and it really doesn't work for me. But Chiba's not the only one, most of the entire cast acts very strangely. I think this surprisingly works for most of the enemies in the "cat gang" pretty well, very similarly to A Clockwork Orange (1971), but I was not surprised when after watching the movie, I looked up the cast and found they were all anime voice actors Oshii had worked with on previous projects. This film was pretty the entire cast's first time acting in live action.

I'm not going to spoil the ending but it seems worth noting that the ending has a possibility of making you question why you watched the film at all, but I personally found the journey to get there was worth it more so than not.

The magnificent thing about this film is how effectively they create a dystopian setting on a very low budget: few locations, a lot conveyed through acting and story and small props and even the monotone color of the picture really help set the mood of this world. This would be a great film to review if you were intending on creating a dystopian type movie on a small budget.

The Red Spectacles (1987) is a great first live action film, and a wonderful dystopian mindfuck. I think it shows a lot of Mamoru Oshii's potential and with this film he created a world that is very interesting, so much so that it's no question why this film spawned a manga and other films and things that also take place in this world. 3/5 Stars.

Happy watching!





Check back everyday this week as I will continue to review more of acclaimed Japanese director Mamooru Oshii's works.

Like this blog? You can support it by buying this film through these links: